


Illuminate

by baeksbabygirl



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lucky One (Music Video), Angst with a Happy Ending, Dreams and Nightmares, Flashbacks, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Minor Violence, Psychological Trauma, References to Drugs, Smut, power au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:27:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeksbabygirl/pseuds/baeksbabygirl
Summary: Baekhyun fully expects to return to the Camp of Energy and be paired with his forever partner, Yixing. What he instead experiences is much different, forced to pair with the fire Power, Chanyeol, all the while learning what it is not to be afraid of the dark anymore.





	Illuminate

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by prompt # 18
> 
> A/N: I was so incredibly happy to finish this, and I'm kind of happy with the end result? I really hope that everyone who reads it enjoys it because I basically poured my soul into it over the past few weeks. Thanks to S for reading it before everyone else, and for motivating me to finish it, too. And to E because this is your prompt, and I hope that you like it despite my moving it around and changing several things with the original plot. Thanks <3

_The first thing he noticed was the smoke. It had seemed like a light mist at first, nothing to be worried about. It had transformed rather quickly though, because in the next few seconds the smoke had turned grey in color rather than translucent, and then it was clouding his vision and making him cough, his lungs screaming for him to get out of there._

_Except Chanyeol was still inside, and Baekhyun didn’t know how to yell for the fire Power, except to scream his name and wait for the man to call back, to let him know that everything was going to be okay._

_It didn’t happen like that though, with the smoke clearing through the house like a thick fog, making Baekhyun cough and cough and cough, until his eyes were bleary and he was fighting with himself to leave the cabin, and leave all the contents within. He wasn’t sure if Chanyeol was still in there, if the other Power had somehow lost control of his gifts and had started to smoke out the entire place._

_Baekhyun wished then that Yixing was with them, so that the two could go barging into that room together, not for fear of getting burned or for the pain that would come with the smoke clogging their lungs. Yixing would have come with him into that dreadful smoke and taken Chanyeol from the flames that ravaged the house, and would have dragged his ass out of there._

_But Yixing wasn’t there, and Baekhyun’s steely resolve got the better of him as he stood, determined to save a friend – save someone who had become much more than a friend in the last several weeks of their time spent at the Camp of Energy._

_“I’m coming to get you.” Baekhyun said, illuminating the darkness and not bothering to care about the rest of the items lying around the small cabin as he charged into the other room, searching for the fire Power. Chanyeol needed him…_

Baekhyun woke with a start, clutching his chest and coughing as he woke. Dazed and confused, he couldn’t be sure of what he had just seen. There were those memories that became dreams, and then those dreams that seemed like memories, or rather close to them, and yet were clearly fixations of the mind. This one did not seem like that, and he wondered how long it would take for him to stop having such recurring dreams. All about the other Powers that had been locked up in that lab with him ages ago.

It felt like a full lifetime ago.

He realized that even more when the man lying beside him twisted to face him, and placed a kiss softly to his lips, making him remember the night prior. The previous night had been nothing special or out of the ordinary – a night filled with passion, and perhaps a little lack of self-control. Baekhyun could remember going over the edge at one point in the night and lighting the entire room with an illuminating gleam that had both of them closing their eyes until they knew it had passed, or at least dimmed to a shimmer.

Yixing smiled fondly back at him, and Baekhyun couldn’t help the small smile that adorned his face as well. Despite the recurring nightmare, and the odd almost-memory of it, he was happy to wake next to his partner. Life-long partner, Baekhyun would have liked to believe. And though the two were certainly open to others sharing their beds, or sharing beds with those who were not each other from time to time, they always came back to one another, and remained.

The two were a constant, and had been since they had been locked in those cells together, forced on display for scientists to experiment on. Forced to perform as if they were show puppets.

Baekhyun found it easy to flick the lights on above, which only made Yixing shake his head in amazement, and perhaps a bit of disbelief.

“Last night was lovely.” He said, and proceeded to kiss Baekhyun for the second time that very morning. It was a small pleasure, getting to wake next to Yixing nearly every morning, get to kiss him, get to lie next to him as he got comfortable in the sheets, not wanting to leave so soon. There were small arguments between the two, of who would get up first and start the shower, or who would get up and get the mail, or get up and make breakfast. Most mornings it was a joint effort on all of those parts, but it also took a bit of nudging, and maybe even a bit of biting on Baekhyun’s end. Not as if he bit down hard, but just enough for Yixing to throw his hands up in defeat and for both of them to fall into a little fit of laughter, the sounds glorious to the others’ ears.

Baekhyun could remember the time in which they didn’t have the luxury of sleeping together, or even within a safe, secure place on their own. There had been a time when the two had been locked behind bars, forced into small spaces and told to do this or that.

 

_He quivered in the darkness of that pitch-black room, body quivering as the darkness seemed to envelop him. Baekhyun only made to close his eyes, comfortable in the dark that was the back of his own eyelids, and yet it was still too dark. He shivered and made whispers to a goddess of light, hoping that she heard his prayers while he begged for a savior._

_The scientists had opened the door in the next second to throw a second person in there with him, and then he was terrified all over again._

_“Don’t be afraid.” The boy had whispered to him in the dark. “I’ll help you.”_

 

He shivered at the memory that coursed through him like those drugs they used to pump through them when in those gods forsaken labs. Baekhyun couldn’t help but remember the terror that had wracked through his body so often when locked up in there, and in the rare moments that the terror came pouncing back into the forefront of his mind like a wild cat, Yixing was there to calm him.

The other’s smooth fingertips played a symphony on Baekhyun’s skin, drawing his mind away from the sudden horror of memories. The darkness and the small spaces. Baekhyun let out a nervous laugh, but Yixing could see right through it.

“We’re going to the camp today.” The healer reminded him, and he took a shuddering breath, remembering exactly what would come with going to the Camp of Energy.

Perhaps that was why his dreams had been so odd the last week or so. Memories or not, there was some connection, and there was destined to be some changes when the two arrived. Baekhyun would bet on it.

 

The Camp was not a horrible place. In fact, it was supposed to be considered a safe place. Though the nine of them had gone their separate ways, with Baekhyun and Yixing being two of the only ones who had stuck together after escaping from the labs, they had all come together again after being contacted by Junmyeon, the water Power of the lot. He had come up with a plan, and course of action. There were others like them throughout the world, and within the many worlds surrounding them. Junmyeon had been adamant of bringing them altogether, creating a safe space where they could learn together and strengthen their abilities to fight or fend off those that would harm them and take them from their home planets.

Baekhyun knew they had not been born of Earth, and knew there were others, more than just the nine of them, from the many articles and files he had stolen from the labs before escaping. Downloadable content that the two had a little of an issue un-encrypting, but enough data between the stolen property that Baekhyun knew what had happened during those years, where they had all come from, and why _them._

It had started with the Planet 1248.

There had been twelve of them originally, and though there were only the nine of them that had escaped altogether, Baekhyun had a theory from reading through all of the files that the other three had managed to escape before them.

They had been assigned numbers, all of them, and as Baekhyun thought of it, he touched the bit of branded skin right below his ear. The labs had been brutal and they had left with quite a number of scars and marks to remind them all of their time there.

Baekhyun’s fingers etched carefully along the 04 etched into his skin, wondering why the scientists had felt the need to brand them, to mark up their skin and torture them. At first he hadn’t known, until he had begun digging deeper into the files, some of them too gory and detailed for Yixing to look at. But Baekhyun kept on, reading them all through.

He needed to know the truth, even after he was safe in a home of his own, safe beside a partner he loved, and someone he felt comfortable with.

Yixing was someone who had gone through what he had, and who understood the PTSD that Baekhyun suffered from because of the trauma. He supposed that many of them knew the same trauma, but Yixing had been right there with him in that dark room. Had been right there with him when Baekhyun confessed that he was afraid of the dark.

_No. 04 and 10 continue to get along, with both of their results escalating in positive waves._

Baekhyun could remember reading several of those statements while combing through the scientists’ logs. He had found another of the three that he assumed had escaped, wondering further if they were still alive somewhere out there, or if the scientists had found them and disposed of the “failures”.

_The failed products have been missing for thirty-three days now. Will report further on attempts 00, 68 and 77._

It unnerved Baekhyun reading that they were “attempts” as if they weren’t people, just things that the scientists and lab workers had created on their own. And initially that had been what he imagined they all were, until he had read further, past the talk of the injections and advanced medical procedures, the rather large developments of facial surgery to make their looks more refined. Past those documents, he had found one labeled _1248_ , and had been curious enough to comb through it, finding something interesting.

_We would never have been able to create such magnificent creatures as these on our own. To think that they were ripe for the taking on a planet that no one had yet discovered. We must keep our new specimens a secret from the general public._

The files went on to say, from several different accounts, that there had been others like them, but they had been much too strong to take and experiment on. Their powers had already been molded and tapered to extremes. They were defensive, protective of the younger children that the planet boasted. Little ones running around with gift and talents of their own. Some of whom had cowered in the streets on the sight of a ship landing at their spatial dockyard, while others had run to the adults and pointed, wondering aloud what the thing was. The files stated that they spoke their own language, but had picked up quickly on the languages that the scientists spoke as they stepped off the ship.

It went into further detail of how the twelve of them had been procured, going into details the weaponry used against the adults to keep them at bay as the scientists rounded up the most beautiful, the strongest, the most capable looking of the children in that sector of the planet. It went on to say there were others chosen over time, the scientists docking for several months there.

There was a reason why their set of numbers was so off. Only a few of the nine who had made it away from the labs were of the first batch of experiments, Baekhyun and Yixing only two of the first. Baekhyun could remember distinctly that one of them had the branded 99 on his neck, and he shuddered at the idea that the scientists had taken almost 100 children from their home planet and experimented on them, developing them into gods only knew what.

He still wasn’t sure what their motive was, as there was no talk in the many documents of taking over a nation, or experimenting on them to create an army, or anything similar to a government inspired project. Baekhyun had read so many of the stolen documents, and yet their motive was still unclear. It seemed to him that they experimented just to experiment, to learn more of how their powers and bodies worked, and why they were the way they were. There was no talk of synthesizing their gifts, of creating a new specimen all on their own, and he wondered – both he and Yixing had wondered – if that was because the scientists had not the expertise or the funding to do something of that sort.

All they did was create drugs and tasks for the twelve of them to do. Until three of them had escaped, and then they had kept the other nine in lock down, only taking them out singularly or in pairs.

Of course, that system had been their downfall. Still learning how their powers worked and manifested, the scientists had not realized it would be a bad idea to keep the ones known for their water and ice manipulation away from one another. It was part of the reason in how they had all escaped…

Yixing yet again interrupted his memories, with a touch to his shoulder as the two got up and got showered and dressed.

“Try not to let it get to you, seeing all of them again.” He reminded Baekhyun.

Being reunited with those who had gone through the same things that he had was a bit unnerving. There was only so much of the past that he could handle without letting it get the best of him. It had been only last summer that Baekhyun had accidentally blinded one of the human guards that was there only to be sure all safety measures were instilled around the borders of the camp. Junmyeon had hired them, after coming to earth just as Yixing and Baekhyun had, and falling into step with one of the wealthier human families. It was there and then that Junmyeon had come across some others of their kind, which had sparked him in creating the Camp of Energy. It was for all of them, but it meant a lot to Junmyeon, too.

Baekhyun looked back at Yixing and sighed, “Keep close to me, and it won’t get to me.” but his partner only shook his head before reaching over to pull Baekhyun to him, kissing a trail to his lips. This did not last long, however, because the next moment Yixing was nodding toward the door, bags already packed sometime in the last week and stationed at the entrance to their apartment. He had been prepared, though Baekhyun would have much rather forgotten about the trip to the camp…

 

It was a few hours drive across state borders until they reached an outcropping of mountains and valleys that hid what they were really looking for. Baekhyun supposed it could essentially be considered alien technology that they had to thank for making something like that possible, or it was due in part to Jongin, one of the youngest of the nine who had survived the escape, who had a gift likened to teleportation. Baekhyun wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, just that the Power had to mind the rig that jumped them from this plane to another, where the camp was located. Whether it was another dimension or another planet altogether, Baekhyun could never be sure.

All he knew was that the place they jumped to was familiar in a way that made his skin crawl and his eyes burn. It was the type of place he would have pictured they had once lived – Planet 1248. Except there were never any pictures in those documents, and the scientists had always been more keen on describing the people than the actual terrain and fauna.

What made the place even more unsettling to step onto was the fact that it was almost completely desolate. Baekhyun feared that if this place was actually Planet 1248 that the scientists had terminated all of those who had once lived here so that they would not go after their children, family, and friends. It was a hard reality, but something that Baekhyun could see happening. A reality, or possible reality that scared him, and worried him as well.

Had the nine of them once had friends and family, now forever gone?

It made Baekhyun want to keep Yixing closer to him, that protective streak in him bubbling over the top. He could even see his skin illuminating in that fear, a self-defense mechanism that he had always tried to keep under wraps.

It was partly why, or rather how, he had blinded that guard last year. And why – when Junmyeon mentioned upon landing on that desolate place, about splitting some of them up – his skin gleamed brighter in anger.

Yixing beside him kept a tight hand on Baekhyun’s, squeezing to calm him and let him know that he was there with him. Junmyeon’s voice still broke through, however, and Baekhyun tried to find it in himself not to overreact or blind anyone else. After all, they had just arrived at the camp, and it wouldn’t do him well to start off on the wrong foot this summer.

“We’ll be separating a few of you this time around. There are others cropping up around the place, and we need some of the more patient of us to help guide them in the right direction. Jongin and I came up with the plan a few months ago, creating more entrances to this place and letting others join us. This will be the first time the other portals are going to be put to use, and so we don’t know how disoriented the other Powers will be upon arrival.” He explained, going into more detail about the new systems and how more technology was being brought through the portals as well, how Jongin had found a way to power the portals without wasting all of his energy, and how other Powers like him had stepped up through finding mutual friends.

Listening to them, Baekhyun was a little amazed. Not only by the prospect that there were others like them somewhere out there, but that this was all coming to fruition, and they were excited about it. Despite the overwhelming feeling of being close to others who reminded Baekhyun of his time with the scientists, locked up in those labs, he felt a shy of a smile stretch his lips. Even with the chance of them separating, he wondered how he’d been so lucky to come across people like this.

Junmyeon would have gone on further, if it weren’t for the bright flash of light, and then another group stepping through that portal, making a few of them move to the side. Baekhyun could recognize some of them from last summer, and knew that although the camp had once been meant for just the nine of them, there had been others added each summer so that their numbers now swelled and that there were now “leaders” of each unit.

As if there were military personnel, agent meant for war.

Baekhyun wouldn’t put it past Junmyeon to prepare them for war, though, not discounting the way the humans on earth had taken to their kind. Most humans still didn’t know, but there were more articles out there now that scared them all into some kind of hiding. Baekhyun always had to keep what he was a secret at his teaching job, careful not to expose himself by getting too overworked and letting his skin shine too bright.

The good thing about teaching elementary school children was that even if he did go overboard, their parents never really believed them. It was a sad truth, but something that had kept him safe since he had first procured the job.

He supposed it was also a bit of a blessing that the government sector Junmyeon had come into contact with was willing to help all of them, not only in forging them fake documents, but also help them in getting jobs in secure locations, and helping them keep their jobs for as long as they needed the assistance and money. The government agents that were helping them had also helped devise the locations of their portals, helped them cultivate whatever planet or dimension this was so that it was safe from human consumption and destruction. Even the agents that had been cured to enter through the portal were of the highest caliber, and only ones that Junmyeon was familiar with, and had worked with personally.

The water Power had a knack for keeping others in control, and also forming bonds with unlikely friends.

But he also had a knack for getting on Baekhyun’s nerves, especially when the next group arrived and he carried on with how he was going to separate them, calling Yixing’s name out like he was calling for attendance.

“Yixing!” he started, “You’ll be going with Luna’s group. There are a few healers coming with one of the new groups a few miles out from here and we thought it would be a good idea to have you go with them.” Even before the water Power had finished speaking, Baekhyun was holding tight to Yixing’s hand, not wanting to let his partner go. It wasn’t a secret that the two were together, and had been for quite a while now. Even if the two sometimes strayed from each other’s arms, just to experiment with other sensations amongst humans, they always came right back to one another.

“I’ll be fine.” Yixing murmured to Baekhyun, trying not to make it a huge scene the way Baekhyun almost wanted to. Even if he was going to be fine, Junmyeon began talking again of how he was pairing the others up as well. Baekhyun had always been paired with Yixing, and he could feel his skin vibrating with the intensity of his light from where it was processing in his blood. He could feel it start to develop and anger and intensify until it was a clear sheen over his arms and hands. Yixing tried to calm him, whispering and moving the two aside with a backwards glance at the others, who were trying to ignore them, but some of them were not so subtle in their sidelong glances at the two of them as they begged for privacy.

Baekhyun’s words came out in just the same cadence of a whisper as Yixing’s, but they were far more urgent, far more forceful when they escaped his lips, “You aren’t leaving me here.” He said. The memory-dreams seemed more like telling of the future now that he thought of them, his throat closing in fear. If it was the future he had been seeing, for whatever odd reason, then he was going to be left alone in a cabin with Chanyeol, the fire Power of the nine of them. And not just left alone to their own devices, but left alone so that something would develop and burn. Not just in the emotional sense of the word.

There had never been any qualms from either of them of the potentiality of falling for someone else, but Baekhyun had tried his best to stay faithful, and to stay committed to Yixing because he felt like he owed him something.

It had been Yixing that had made the darkness bearable in those labs, and it had been Yixing who had come to Baekhyun’s cells to help him escape, with Chanyeol in tow behind him. Chanyeol who had then burned the metal bars enough that they were malleable and able to be forced apart enough for Baekhyun to squeeze through, even with his broad shoulders. Yixing had healed both of their burns that night, and had then calmed Baekhyun’s raging heart and near-blinding light as it seeped on through his skin, enough that everyone else couldn’t directly look at him.

Baekhyun felt like Yixing had done so much for him, and maybe it wasn’t exactly an equal type of appraisal he had for Yixing, but his partner was always so giving and careful with him that he felt that Yixing brought out the best in him. The two of them together were perfect in Baekhyun’s eyes, and he couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else.

Of course, this small separation was just that, small and would be over sooner than he realized. They had the next two months at this camp before they had to return to the “real” world. Baekhyun had a job to do, and Yixing, gods love him, worked as a permanent volunteer at some of the shelters around their city.

He could do it – could get through the next two months without having Yixing at his side, and could get through the next two months with Chanyeol there instead. It was not the end of the world, and he could be strong all on his own.

The light beneath his skin dimmed as he came to that revelation, and he was rewarded in calming himself down by the deepest of kisses from Yixing. Most definitely a reward, and something he would be looking forward to getting again when the two came back together at the end of the next several weeks apart. Baekhyun was already itching to rip their clothes and feel Yixing’s smooth skin beneath his, but that was a bit inappropriate for the current company they held.

Even the kiss seemed to spark something inside of Baekhyun, his skin lighting again, this time a smoother color brilliant, rather than the blindingly bright shimmer that he had been spouting only moments prior.

It was such an odd delight, gleaming for Yixing. But Baekhyun didn’t care, even when there were a few behind them that had cleared their throats, Junmyeon’s voice rising above them all and asking the two of them to join them once more for their assignments for the summer.

 _This is like summer school_ , Baekhyun thought, groaning while still attached to Yixing’s lips. The other pulled away with a freeing chuckle, shaking his head before he squeezed Baekhyun’s hand and pulled him along, only a few feet from the initial group. It seemed as though they had all already spouted off into their pairs, and Baekhyun could easily see Chanyeol standing to one side as if he were waiting for someone, or for something to happen. Baekhyun supposed it was he who Chanyeol was waiting for, and he nodded slightly over at the taller Power, trying to be kind and open, even if he was fearful of how this summer would take off.

Chanyeol didn’t reign in the brilliant grin that stretched his own lips, a warmth reverberating in the distance between them. How odd.

“Ready?” Junmyeon asked, nodding at the two of them, and even going so far as to nod toward the group already making their leave past the camp cabins and initial buildings on the planet sanctuary. Baekhyun did notice how, although he had originally though the place desolate, there were quite a few buildings hovering past the brick red dockyard behind them. Jongin had portalled them all here specifically for a reason, but he still wondered exactly what that reason was.

Yixing nodded once before turning back to Baekhyun with a dangerous light in his eyes, and then making an effort to glance over at Chanyeol as well.

“Don’t sulk by yourself. Maybe Chanyeol will be a good partner to work with.”

But Baekhyun shook his head, eyebrows furrowing. Even if the dreams were right, and they were little tidbits of the future, he didn’t want to betray Yixing. The two had often left each other’s beds, but that was for human companionship, never with one of their own, and never for anything serious.

There was something in Baekhyun, and in those dream-memories that had spoken of something that could potentially be serious. And he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that.

Yixing leaned in to kiss Baekhyun’s nose, making him scrunch it when the other pulled away.

“But I’m yours.” He said after a little while, and felt almost like a child complaining to their parents about having to share a toy with a sibling. He just didn’t want to. Yixing shook his head and leaned in to nip at Baekhyun’s ear, making a shiver run up and down his spine. Two months without him? Could he really survive that?

“I’m willing to share.” He said quickly before pulling away, darting back to where the rest of the other group had started to lead off, not letting Baekhyun reply without exposing the nature of their conversation, something that Yixing knew he wasn’t about to do. He scowled a little before sticking his tongue out at his partner, watching him retreat wordlessly.

The healer blew a kiss in Baekhyun’s direction, and he didn’t mind the little gesture, only scrunched his nose again in a bit of distaste, even though he secretly enjoyed it more than most things.

Junmyeon interrupted the moment by giving them all their assignments for the next few weeks, telling Baekhyun he was to be paired with Chanyeol, and that the two would be stationed in cabin 04, the number causing Baekhyun to look up and share a look with their unspoken leader. It was either some kind of piece offering, or a make at amends for separating the two of them. Either way, he nodded solemnly at the water Power and took his assignment, all of them going their own way to unpack their belongings, and then meet in the debriefing quarters of the main hall to discuss further arrangements.

 

_“Who came up with the name Power anyway?” someone asked, curiosity coming forward with a spark of aggravation as well._

Some of the younger ones, the newer ones at that, had been a bit aggressive when coming into the debriefing hall the previous summer, and it was no different this summer, either. Baekhyun caught a few of them hovering together, pulling at their leader and asking so many questions. He didn’t envy Irene or Junmyeon in the slightest, not when they were the self proclaimed leaders of their bunch, and had been the initial ones to come up with the word Power in the first place. Junmyeon had made an argument every summer since he started this three years ago that no other word fit any of them quite as well. He had also thrown it at some of the newbies, asking them what else they think the collective should be called.

That had thrown them off, and then silenced them for the rest of the meeting.

Meanwhile, with memories and dreams clouding his mind, Baekhyun didn’t quite notice the way the fire Power at his back seemed to be staring at him a bit too closely. He also hadn’t noticed the slight shimmer still staining his skin, until said fire Power had pointed it out, all the while Junmyeon and Irene stood at the pedestal talking about what they wished to accomplish this summer with so many more joining them.

“Hey, your light is still on.” Chanyeol said in a slightly hushed voice, prodding gently at Baekhyun’s shoulder to gather his attention.

Sometimes his skin gleamed all on its own, when he was too sucked into his own thoughts. Most of the time it was just this subtle iridescent gleam that he truly had no control over, and of which sometimes Baekhyun rather liked. It gave him this air of mystery, and also lended to his students paying more attention to him in class if he kept it at a steady light glimmer. Somehow elementary school children liked shiny things, and listened more when Baekhyun enveloped that sort of thing for them.

Even if that didn’t really make sense to him.

Trying his best to dim his own light, and then going so far as to roll down the sleeves of his thin shirt, he stumbled over the right words to say.

“Uh, thanks.” He said silently, nodding at Chanyeol who stood behind him. It was then that the fire Power cleared his throat and smiled softly.

“I’m Chanyeol, by the way, I don’t know if you uh…remember me?” and Baekhyun wasn’t sure what made that sentence of introduction funny to him, but he let out a small laugh, letting himself relax and smile for a little bit since Yixing had left only about an hour earlier.

He nodded, “I know who you are, Chanyeol.” And then he felt a little odd saying it quite like that and then he amended his statement, “I mean, I remember you. You and Yixing saved me from the labs that night, by burning off the metal bars.” There was more than just that, though, Baekhyun knew. There were always little tidbits of information he kept stored about the others, and Baekhyun had always been a little intrigued with the fire Power, and how his talent worked exactly. Because it hadn’t just been that once instance that Chanyeol had saved Baekhyun, he could remember other things, too.

Like the time that Chanyeol had been out in the training rink, faced with that awful mechanical beast that the scientists had created for them to fight with in their simulations. Those with more defensive tactics had been given other tasks, and yet Baekhyun – with his singular power of creating light – had been pushed into the group of them that would fight the mechanical contraption.

He could remember cowering in the corner of his cell that day, not wanting even close to the contraption, and wondering when they were going to come to him. He hadn’t realized that the odd smell of burning had been the lock and metal bars on his cell door. Not strong enough, or concentrated enough heat to melt the bars, but enough to burn the hands of the scientists that had tried to get their way into his cell that day.

They had found out it was Chanyeol no more than an hour after initially trying to open Baekhyun’s cell, and had punished the other behind closed doors.

The next time Baekhyun had seen the other boy, he had been covered in yellowing bruises, but had smiled all the same in Baekhyun’s direction. He had felt guilty of it for a while after, and hadn’t forgotten about it, but had let it fall to the back of his mind amongst all of the other things to worry about, like survival.

There was a reason why there were only nine of them remaining in that lab to escape, another reason why the brands on their necks had such varying numbers.

Baekhyun noticed it now when he glanced briefly at the number of Chanyeol’s skin, 61. He wondered exactly how many batches of kids from their home planet had been taken, experimented on, and had not survived the tasks they were put up to. The camp reminded him only slightly of the labs, but it was a much safer atmosphere, and this wasn’t truly about danger and survival the way the labs were. This was teaching each other their own practices, how to blend in, and how to keep one another and themselves safe from capture again.

Because despite the fact that Junmyeon had told each and every one of them there were no risk for danger here, or as long as they trusted him, he had expressed in a private meeting with the nine of them last summer that they should all be on their toes, and all on the lookout. They were all a bit paranoid, something that the newbie Powers did not have fighting in their veins. The nine of them had gone through hell and back, so it was only logical that they keep up their training and defense.

“We’ll all start with warm ups. Can’t hurt, can it?” Junmyeon says, catching Baekhyun’s attention through the many thoughts roiling through his head. He could have sworn that Chanyeol had said something as well, but in the next second, the fire Power is grinning and easing toward the entrance, telling Baekhyun to follow after him like an excited puppy.

With a quirked brow, and a half thrown glance over his shoulder at Junmyeon, Baekhyun follows the others out of the compound and towards the training facilities…

 

_“How is it that you, a healer, is quicker on their feet than I am? I am the actual embodiment of light.” Baekhyun grounds out, brows furrowing and body lunging toward Yixing in the next second._

_They often came down to the training rooms of the camp when no one was there, going for one of the more secluded areas in the arena to hash it out with one another. They didn’t fight for fun, it was more of a way to let off steam. Baekhyun was constantly fighting his aggression of being there at the camp, and so every time Yixing saw him like that, he offered to train with him, to let him get all of his frustrations out._

_Because if Yixing let Baekhyun get his frustrations out any other way, his ass would be sore in the morning, rather than the other way around…_

_Baekhyun fell down on his ass again at that, Yixing chuckling slightly as he saw his partner fall, and though Baekhyun didn’t think it was funny, he did really enjoy the sound of Yixing’s laughter. He scowled nevertheless, at the healer, before he was on his feet again._

_“The actual embodiment of light is a little cocky when they’ve fallen on their ass…what is it, five times now?” Yixing shook his head, “You’re distracted Baekhyun. Come on, focus.”_

_And so he did, jaw set and coming at Yixing with all he had…_

Training with Chanyeol was much different than training with Yixing. Yixing was patient, but also pushed Baekhyun to be the best he could be. There was something in Chanyeol’s stance that had Baekhyun gleaming brilliantly angry, wanting to knock him off his feet. Yixing and Baekhyun were at least similar heights, whereas Chanyeol stood a little taller than Baekhyun and made him want to compensate for the height difference by being the first to knock his pair off his feet and onto the training mat.

There were also others watching them spin around each other, and though it was highly frowned upon to use their gifts in the arena while training, Baekhyun could see in his periphery some of the others disobeying that unspoken rule.

Not wanting to become further distracted, Baekhyun ducked down quickly, foot out to trip Chanyeol up as he curled into the ground, hoping to come up standing on the other side of him as he spun up and around. There must have been some type of tell in his movements though, because Chanyeol was across the space in the next second, Baekhyun’s foot and leg catching at empty air before he was pushing back up in the next second, gasping for breath.

They’d been at this back and forth for about ten minutes now, neither of them getting in a hit and Baekhyun wondered when either of them would. He wanted to punch someone, something, even if that meant it would be Chanyeol.

There were other healers on sight at the camp, despite Yixing’s group leaving a few hours prior for the other side of the Energy’s large field. He couldn’t exactly see the other portal popping up out of the red rock, but he knew where it was, and knew it wouldn’t take him more than a day’s journey across the fields to get there.

The portal itself, on the Earth’s side, was somewhere in China, and Baekhyun supposed that was why Junmyeon had sent Yixing along with the other healers, rather than Jeong-hwa who was now to be one of their main healers here at this section of the camp. She had been paired with Hani, and the two were just as inseparable as Baekhyun and Yixing had been.

In the next second, Baekhyun was up and ready to throw his fists, but Chanyeol caught him off guard with a quick smile and a question thrown at him, “So where do you and Yixing live on Earth?” he asked, making Baekhyun miss, and causing him to fall to the right, giving Chanyeol enough room to throw his legs out from beneath him.

There was a large slap against the training mats when Baekhyun went down, but he was up in the next second, light prism-ing from beneath his skin in hexagonal outbursts, like little rainbows turned up a notch. He growled out some kind of warning before he came charging at Chanyeol, and then it became some sort of dance between the two of them.

It was over before it started really, because Chanyeol was laughing and having fun with it, even though Baekhyun was there to win. And despite the fact that Chanyeol was slightly larger and bulkier than Baekhyun was, he was light on his feet when trying to run from Baekhyun’s advances. Like he had trained in running away from those that were smaller, and of course quicker than he was.

Baekhyun remembered then that Chanyeol had been paired with Jongdae last summer, and the other Power liked to use some of his own talents in the training arena to make sure his partner was learning from he experience.

He had heard and seen too many times, Chanyeol coming away with slight lightning burns on his skin, the static shock of them slowly forming bruises and what could have passed as carpet burns.

Chanyeol had thrown and then pinned Baekhyun to the ground after a minute of this, and then was grinning down on him, only some of his weight coming down atop Baekhyun. He had made it look too easy, and that had Baekhyun a bit frustrated. He wondered if training with Yixing all this time had him getting so used to the others’ tells that he just wasn’t as good at fighting others as he thought. Yixing had always called him his little ball of rage when in the training arena, but Baekhyun wondered if that was even true.

“I win.” Chanyeol said after a moment of silence between them. And he grinned wide, too, “You owe me an answer to my question now.”

The fire Power lifted to his feet, pulling Baekhyun up with him in the next second. Baekhyun didn’t owe him anything, and he said as much, but the fire Power simply shook his head and crossed his arms against his chest.

“No. Think of it as incentive to win our matches together this summer. Every time we train I’ll ask you a question. If I win, you answer me. If I lose, then you get to ask a question of me. And if you don’t want to ask me a question, then I have to do something you want, anything, just as long as it’s not jumping into Minseok’s ice baths.” And Chanyeol shuddered at the mention, which had Baekhyun almost quirking a smile, before he reigned the expression in. “Do we have a deal?” and he held out a hand, as if to shake on it.

A moment’s contemplation later, and he was shrugging, figuring truly what could be the harm. He didn’t plan on losing the next training session, and so he stuck out a hand and shook Chanyeol’s, nodding.

“Deal.”

And then he was telling Chanyeol about his and Yixing’s small little apartment in the Northeast, grinning slowly to himself as he described to cozy, private place that the two had found together, and had lived in over the past five years since their escape.

Baekhyun couldn’t see it, but Chanyeol listened intently, drawn in by Baekhyun’s every word…

 

The next two weeks were similar to the first day in that Chanyeol kicked Baekhyun’s ass in training. Of course, Baekhyun was getting better each and every day, but there were more days that Chanyeol won than Baekhyun did. It seemed every day the fire Power came up with something new to throw him off, and it intrigued him, and frustrated him, too.

He huffed as he fell against the mat, rolling onto the mat then with one leg tucked under him while the other stretched to the side as he came up. Head turned toward Chanyeol where he stood, a bit out of breath above Baekhyun. The two had been at it for near on an hour today, with neither of them able to pin the other. They had garnered quite an audience, but Baekhyun ignored them all, clenching his jaw taut as he looked up at Chanyeol.

“Don’t you ever get tired of winning?” Baekhyun asked, still pressed lightly to the ground, and wanting nothing more than to rest back into his cabin and take a nap. The last few days had been exhausting, but they were exactly what he had needed to get his mind off of Yixing being gone. It wasn’t as bad as he had originally imagined, being here with the other seven, and then the other Powers, as well. He had even made small talk during their dinners, Chanyeol dragging him along, and Baekhyun following behind because he couldn’t come up with a better excuse otherwise.

Chanyeol grinned wide, and then shrugged, still in that protective stance of his incase Baekhyun took the moments notice to make him fall off his balance and go tumbling across the mat, giving him the chance to pin him.

“I don’t know, do you ever tire of losing?” He let out a soft laugh and shook his head before continuing, “One of us has to give up, and this fire’s set on low heat, Byun.” Chanyeol said, calling Baekhyun by his surname, a name that Baekhyun had chosen five years ago when they had stepped onto this Earth and been forced to take human identities, to blend into the culture they now settled themselves into. Baekhyun took pride in that name, because it had been something he had chosen on his own, and something he stood behind.

Baekhyun scoffed at Chanyeol in the next second, lunging and spinning, using a little of his light to move sparks like the flash of fireworks above them, making those watching move and look up and around, wondering where the lightning bright sparks were coming from. It was enough of a distraction for Chanyeol to look up as well, and though it may not have been the best distraction, it still worked enough for Baekhyun to triple over and lunge like a predator in the brush, pinning Chanyeol on his back.

It seemed a little too easy, in fact, and he had the slightest of feelings that Chanyeol let him win this round in their training.

The fire Power even looked up at him in mock shock, his smaller body on top of Chanyeol’s, just…there for a moment or two before he cleared his throat and surged to his feet, a triumphant grin stretching his lips in the next second, saying that he had won.

“I guess I owe you an answer to whatever question you have for me.” Chanyeol said, nodding at Baekhyun, and then doubling over the stare at all of the other Powers left standing on the edges of the arena, dispersing now with the look Chanyeol gave them, only turning a bit sheepish as he turned back to glance at Baekhyun. He was like a coin, warmth in one hand, and then spitting flame in the other.

But Baekhyun shook his head, “We agreed to a question or a task, remember? I asked you a question the last time.” And he could remember the question – as well as the answer – very distinctly as it had only been two days ago that he had won their training match.

He had asked Chanyeol what his favorite hobby was, and he wasn’t sure why he had asked the question, or really what he was expecting for an answer either, but it certainly wasn’t what he received in response to the question, the fire Power catching him off guard as he often did these days. He had answered honestly, and it had made Baekhyun wonder what kind of person Park Chanyeol truly was – and what he had done over the last five years since the had escaped the labs. In retrospect it had not been all that long ago, but it had also been long enough ago that they all had their various stories.

Chanyeol had told Baekhyun two days ago that his favorite hobby was looking up into the sky, and wondering which stars their parents, friends, and family, had once seen orbiting around their home planet.

It had struck Baekhyun speechless, though Chanyeol had smiled at his own answer a little sadly before dismissing himself to another lesson, this one with all the other fire elemental Powers in their camp. Baekhyun had almost wanted to run after the taller man and beg to know more, but had kept his tongue, and had silently wondered about it when he looked up at the starry sky above the planetary dome, just a few hundreds of meters above their heads.

“So you did.” Chanyeol said, breaking Baekhyun’s thoughts as he nodded. “What will you have me do then? Run naked through the camp during the morning run?” and then he seemed to think on that and shrugged, “Though, Jongdae dared me to do that last summer and so I guess there’s nothing to lose in that area.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened a little bit, remembering the commotion such a thing had caused last year. Jongdae had indeed dared Chanyeol to go running nude through the camp, and it had been a sight that he didn’t think anyone would forget, even if they wanted to. Not that many of the Powers that had witnessed it were complaining. Chanyeol, with all of his training both in and outside of the camp, was fit and muscled. Baekhyun had not missed any inch of him last year, and neither had Yixing. The two had not talked about it, but they had both shared appreciate glances toward the fire Power in that moment.

He tried to shake the image from his head, scowling a bit in Chanyeol’s direction as the other man laughed, grinning wide at the suggestion, an evident mark at Baekhyun’s less than safe thoughts. Was he trying to play at something?

“I’ll think of something by tonight, don’t you worry.” Baekhyun said, a promise lingering on his lips with the words. He realized only then that the two were still pinned together against the training mat, and he was up in the next second, brushing himself off as if there was dirt and dust clinging to his clothing. Chanyeol gave him a once over, but then he was spouting that lofty, signature grin of his that had Baekhyun wanting to swipe it off his face. It wasn’t cocky, not really, but it made Baekhyun’s stomach crumple in an odd manner, and he only wanted the feeling to go away, blaming it solely on Chanyeol.

With a hand raised over his head as he walked away, Chanyeol called for Baekhyun, “I’ll be looking forward to what you have in store for me!”

Baekhyun wasn’t sure if the heat in his face was from being so close on the mat to Chanyeol, or if it was because he was actually blushing at some type of suggestion laced implicitly in that backwards glance and those words. Guess he would find out later, then.

 

By the time came for Baekhyun to be released from his arbitrary lessons – ones that Junmyeon had thought would be a good idea considering there were others in the camp with “similar” abilities to him, he let out a loud sigh, loud enough so that one of the Powers standing just beside him heard and raised an eyebrow. Baekhyun didn’t recognize the other Power for a moment, until he realized that the two had been introduced last year, when Yixing had been working with some of the other healers, and Baekhyun had tagged along for moral support.

Or more like, had tagged along because he hadn’t known what else to do with himself other than stand by Yixing at every possible interval.

Maybe he was a little co-dependent.

“You’re Rosé, right?” he asked, pointing slightly to the girl standing beside him. She was one of the younger healers, though not too much younger than any of the others. Probably just as old as Jongin and Sehun were, if Baekhyun really paid any attention to anyone’s ages. He shrugged internally, waiting for her to respond.

“Chae Young.” She corrected him, but then shrugged, nonchalant. “The others all call me Rosé, or just Rose. I guess it has something to do with my powers, or something like that.” and though Baekhyun couldn’t exactly catch the reference between her nickname and her healing ability, he simply nodded along and then felt a tad awkward about the situation, wondering what people said in cases like these. He wasn’t exactly the type to start small talk with others, even if he would have liked to get to know more people around the camp, others like him. In some capacity at least. He couldn’t be attached at Yixing’s hip for the rest of their lives after all.

Baekhyun had to show some autonomy.

So he nodded and asked her what she did outside of the camp each year, walking as he asked the question, and trying to hide his surprise when she smiled at him and started walking as well, their invisible path down towards the main hall where dinner would be served soon…

By the time the two had gotten to the main hall and had sat down, there were others glancing at Baekhyun like he had gone insane. Chanyeol stopped by, two plates in his hands with one outstretched towards Baekhyun and a nod in Chae Young’s direction, an apologetic smile saying that he was sorry for not grabbing her anything, too. But she kindly ignored him, conversation overflowing as some of her friends came over to their table as well. Baekhyun knew only one of their names, Jennie, and he could recognize her as one of the Powers that he had seen step out of the other classes, with Minseok stepping out of the room as well.

She had a knack for ice manipulation it seemed, and it showed in the way she sat beside Chae Young, protective and cold towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol, yet melted into a smile when Chae Young placed a smooth hand on top of the girl’s shoulder.

Nodding a goodbye, “See you later, Baekhyun! Chanyeol!” Chae Young said, excitement laced in her voice as she stumbled off with her other friends, the four of them all going towards the food that was being washed away by many of the other Powers in their camp.

“Making friends?” Chanyeol asked before stuffing his face with a spoonful of rice.

Looking up and raising an eyebrow, Baekhyun wondered first why it was any of Chanyeol’s business, and why his summer partner had brought him the plate of food in the first place. Not that it wasn’t a kind gesture, but perhaps it was because Chanyeol was trying to kiss up to him, somehow bribe Baekhyun with kindness to make his task less apprehensible.

“Are you somehow opposed to me making friends? Trying to keep me all to yourself?” Baekhyun asked, not expecting Chanyeol’s reply. He never really expected the answers Chanyeol gave him.

He had shrugged, “And what if I said I was?” at the look on Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol shook his head, “You’re a bit gullible, aren’t you? It’s nice seeing you step outside of your box, stepping outside of your comfort zone. I know that Yixing was your safety blanket, but he’s not here right now.”

All of that was true, the fact that he was indeed trying to step outside of his comfort zone. Baekhyun was what the humans called an ambivert, one who enjoyed others’ company and had extroverted tendencies, but he also enjoyed his time alone, recharged that way. Or at least, recharged when alone with Yixing, which he hadn’t the luxury the past two weeks. It was draining, but he may as well have made the best of it. Yixing had told him not to worry, and if there were stories to tell when the two came together again, then Baekhyun would push himself for the sake of those extra minutes in splendor with Yixing.

“And what are you trying to say exactly?” Baekhyun asked, an eyebrow raised in Chanyeol’s direction at the accusation of sorts.

“Nothing.” He replied, “Just a simple observation, and maybe a little bit of hope that you’ll go easy on me tonight with whatever task you’ve devised for me.” And the two laughed while Baekhyun watched his skin light a bit silver from beneath, veins in his arms choosing that time to pulse hard. Maybe he could ask Junmyeon if there was a class on reigning in emotions – even if he didn’t know what emotions he was displaying at the moment.

Baekhyun took a mouthful of rice before he was shrugging, turning to Chanyeol and swallowing hard before saying, “Guess you’ll just have to count the stars for blessings, huh?”

 

Later that night, and much like other nights over the past two weeks, some of the fire Powers started a burning flame in the middle of the campground. The atmosphere surrounding them with their fake gravity and their technology allowed for almost perfect conditions for the flames to rise up high, making the other Powers _ooh_ and _ahh_ in response. It was like being on Earth, except they were so much closer to the stars, the black night crystallized in the glimmering above their heads.

Baekhyun felt a bit at home, staring up at the night sky. He supposed it wasn’t really a night sky he was staring at, just space above them. There were automated lights surrounding them on the red-purple campground, surrounded by buildings that had been commissioned and made over the past three years, new buildings added every summer before they even arrived. The dome-plated roof above them was more a formality than anything else.

He had read the journals and diaries of the scientists after they had escaped the labs. All nine of them could survive the lack of oxygen, their bodies did not necessarily need it. They all fed off of some other kind of energy, one that the scientists had never discovered. In the past five years, Baekhyun still hadn’t found the source of that energy either, but he had kept breathing in the human, Earth bound oxygen each year, not wanting to find out what would happen if they were stranded somewhere without it.

With the flames rising high, their hues a deep green and blue at the moment, changing colors every time the flames fell on another of the fire Powers to mix and turn. It was interesting, seeing them all work as one. Baekhyun couldn’t help but watch Chanyeol hold out a hand just in front of him when it was his turn to hold the flames.

And instead of letting them rise high, doing tricks in the embers of the fire and creating little beasts to run on people’s toes, he held it steady, a deep breath coming from him. He leaned back against the wall of a building he and Baekhyun had rested themselves on, and was staring back at the flames like they were speaking to him in murmurs, telling him secrets.

Maybe they were.

A little abruptly, and as Chanyeol scorched more heat into the flames to warm the edges of their group, he asked Baekhyun, “Did you think of a task for me, yet?”

If he was being honest, Baekhyun couldn’t think of anything for Chanyeol to do. Couldn’t think of anything he wanted him to do, but there were a few questions floating around in his head that he was dying to ask the fire Power, and perhaps it would have been more conductive to their budding friendship to ask more questions of him, than to embarrass him in front of others.

Though, Baekhyun was sure Chanyeol wasn’t easy to embarrass when doing tasks in front of people.

“How about a question instead? I’ll go easy on you.” And he said the second bit with an elbow to Chanyeol’s side, poking at those bony ribs of his, even in all that toned smoothness of his torso. Baekhyun tried not to think of that, even if it had been almost three weeks since he had gotten some.

Not that he was lusting after Chanyeol, his body was just thirsty. Very, very thirsty.

Chanyeol was the opposite of a spring well, though – that, Baekhyun knew just by looking at him. He blinked once, twice, before he looked down at his skin quickly and tried to hide the shine by rolling down his thin sleeves. Somehow his skin still seemed a bit opalescent through the fabric.

He honestly hoped Chanyeol thought it was something else causing his light to refract in this way.

The fire Power grinned – such a pretty sight, Baekhyun had to admit – and nodded, too.

“So my bribing you with food earlier and letting you win the match today is making you go easy on me?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun had known the other had thrown the game a little, made it too easy for Baekhyun to pin him against that mat, and then not even struggle to get up and out of his grasp. More so the fact was evident in the way that Chanyeol just lied there for a while, letting Baekhyun lie across him and push his body weight into his, pinning him against the soft training mat.

He wasn’t sure what part of that memory had him blushing a deep shade of pink, but there it was, the color and heat in his cheeks as he scowled at Chanyeol and shook his head vigorously.

“If you’d like me to go hard on you - .” but he hadn’t even finished his sentence before Chanyeol was laughing about it.

“I certainly wouldn’t complain if you were a little rough with me, Byun, though I suppose you would have to explain that to Yixing when he came back. The reason, that is, of how your fingerprints got all over me.”

They were treading a dangerous line, the both of them. And maybe it was because the two had been cooped up together for near on three weeks now, or if it was because the two were actually, genuinely attracted to one another, past just the general physical attraction.

Baekhyun could see himself with someone like Chanyeol. Just as much as he could see himself with Yixing. The two were different, that was for sure, but they were similar in a lot of ways as well. Yixing was a healer and so his temper and ways of fixing things when they broke was through calm manipulation. Chanyeol was a bit different in that he squinted at the problem and then ran head first into it, wondering if he could make it move and bend to his will if he tried hard enough. It was a refreshing change, and Baekhyun could see how being with either of them – or both of them – would not only prove its difficulties, but rewards as well.

He cut that thought off before it could escalate further, turning to stare at Chanyeol where he sat beside him, eyes turned to crescents in a smile, before Baekhyun shoved him, both hands going into the effort.

The two were laughing in the next second, the sexual tension dissipating as the flames rose with Chanyeol’s laughter. A few of the other fire Powers looked over at the two of them and seemed to be grinning just as wide, their own flames pouring into the fire to make it turn this glorious rainbow shade, twisting and turning higher into the air almost like fireworks.

It was a split second decision, to pour some of his own light into the fire and concentrate on what he wanted it to do exactly. Not only that, but he went with a nudging speck towards Jongdae and Minseok, who were only happy to comply with Baekhyun’s silent look of request. It was like they could read each other’s mind, and maybe it was just because they all had thought the same, but in the next second the sky was burning bright with a flurry of snow – thanks to Minseok – and a flash of fireworks and sparklers bursting thanks to the combined effort of Baekhyun, Jongdae, and the fire Powers.

The sky burst forth with all of that light, Baekhyun’s own silver sheen glimmering like stars amongst the rainbow strokes of flame, and Jongdae’s electricity combing through in yellow golden to add to the beauty of the night.

All of them looked up, with the snow melting faster as it fell onto the flames, but beautiful and lasting enough that the sizzle of it made everyone stop and stare.

Baekhyun couldn’t find the exact question to ask Chanyeol in that moment, knowing that he had once had a hundred and now was resigned only to see Chanyeol stroke the flames higher. And so he asked, making that his question punishment for the fire Power.

“Can you make it higher? More vibrant?” he asked, and then said, “That’s my question.”

Chanyeol’s mouth lit with a half smile, no other response than to nod silently and turn up the heat, Baekhyun’s own light sparking like an orb through the flames, their combined gifts creating a kind of luminescence that couldn’t be compared.

It erupted in showering sparks, blues, and greens, and reds, and oranges, all falling like little embers, mixing with the snowflakes above their heads. It didn’t hurt when the embers and snow touched their skin at the same time, only felt a slight tingle at the sensation, which only caused more yells of enjoyment from the others surrounding the fire.

It was so beautiful…

 

_He felt like he was burning from the inside, the drugs they gave him, tapping into IVs on the inner corners of his arms. Attached to machines that ticked as time went on, timing perfectly with the increasing heartbeat breaking through his chest._

_Baekhyun had only seen the silky black of the drug mixed in the saline solution, only added because they had just fought him for a few blood samples earlier that day, and he was already weary and dizzy of where he was. Despite that, he still tried to fight them, sounds like whimpers escaping his lips as he struggled against their dozens of hands – when truly there were only two people working above him._

_When he could no longer see the drug in its odd state within the saline hovering above him, he knew it was in his blood. Knew it not only from the small view he had above his head, but because the dizziness had tripled and he was starting to see other things too, split views of this world and another that he could just barely recognize. There were words slipping from his tongue, but he didn’t understand them. He knew they were familiar, could have easily picked at the language had he not been drugged and weak._

_The next moment, his eyes were slipping shut and he was convulsing against the table they had him strapped to. Suddenly there were others rushing in, their words just barely catching him in this state._

_“Take him off, take him off!” he heard them yelling, and wondered if they were talking about him or someone else._

_In the next second he heard more than felt the rip of the IV as it left his skin, the stickiness of the tape they used to keep it there barely registering as uncomfortable in his semi-conscious state. He kept mumbling in that other language, seeing someone come toward him in that half vision that the drugs had induced in him. One of his arms reached up to catch at the person’s face, a little ball of light slipping from between his fingertips. He even smiled in this state, head lolling to the side in the next second._

_A voice came through the drug-induced reverie and he sputtered once more, convulsing and throwing his arms this way and that, cries coming from this throat._

“You’ll be free soon, my boy.” _The voice told him, and he hoped it was true._

Baekhyun woke to Chanyeol in his face, arms twisting and turning him, prodding at him with that language on his lips just as it had been in Baekhyun’s dreams. He knew it then, was more than familiar with it. It was the language all of them had spoken when the scientists had first captured them. The language of their home planet, their native tongue.

It was odd, hearing the words coming from Chanyeol, when Baekhyun had only heard them in recent years from Yixing. And then again, had only heard them from Yixing when Baekhyun woke from dreams that haunted his waking life, and his true reality. Not that the nightmares of the past he had weren’t at one point real. They most certainly were, but they were called the past for a reason, and Yixing had kept him calm over the last few years.

Kept him calm enough that Baekhyun hadn’t those type of nightmares in almost a full year. So having one now, when Yixing was away from him, had his chest caving in and his skin turning a smoldered grey with shadows, all of the light sinking closer to his heart, rather than flowing to the surface. It always retracted in fear – which was why it had been astounding he was able to produce any light when those scientists forced him into that room, forced him and Yixing into that room for hours at a time. It was Yixing’s influence that had Baekhyun producing the light, even in bits and pieces at a time.

Chanyeol continued to shake him, asking in that language if he was okay, asking him what his dream had been about that he had been screaming in their language. Chanyeol had understood him…

He’d understood the fear and betrayal and absolute candid terror that had poured out of Baekhyun’s mouth while the nightmare had wracked through his body like a wave of shadows. Had understood it, and then come running from the other room to try to wake him and bring him back from that dream land that had held him prisoner for those last minutes.

Sleep paralysis had always been one of Baekhyun’s other nighttime terrors, keeping him from those he loved. He had been subject to them while in his cells within the labs, and for at least two years after they had escaped as well. The paralysis had only showed up every few months in the last three years, and that was mostly because of Yixing, who always turned from the cage of Baekhyun’s arms and tried to calm him with his healing magic, to sooth and strengthen his own resolve against the darkness and memories. Creating that blinding, healing caress that brought Baekhyun back to his own light.

It wasn’t the same, the way Chanyeol tried to heal Baekhyun of the nightmares, but it worked in the end. Chanyeol lit the candles the fire Power had taken with him from Earth, all of them with this woodsy, musky scent. Although Baekhyun wasn’t sure if that was more the candles, or if it was really just Chanyeol’s own essence clouding his nose and mind. Yixing’s essence smelled like pine, almost sweet and cloying, yet also deep in the way it drowned out the darkness that Baekhyun easily succumbed to in his dreams. They were so different, yet so eerily similar in the way they tried to help him. While Yixing clouded Baekhyun with his scent and healing caress, Chanyeol wafted the candles in his general direction, making sure that their flames were controlled, steadily burning around him. If it were any other time, and he wasn’t still a bit shocked and drained from his nightmares, he would have made a joke of how it looked like Chanyeol was trying to sacrifice him to some old, ancient god, with the candles surrounding him in a semi circle.

Instead he settled for a weak, “You’re so dramatic.” Which had Chanyeol shaking his head, eyes still worried as he responded, no longer in their native tongue.

“I don’t think you’re a very good judge of that at the moment.” He said, but kept quiet in the next second, still trying to calm Baekhyun down with letting the flames rise up, then fall down, the beat of their light enough of a calming sensation if he just focused on them for a few minutes.

When his breathing had evened, and he could move from where he had been almost frozen in bed, he turned his eyes to Chanyeol, who was looking at him with such concern that Baekhyun could have kissed him right then and there. The thought struck him as odd, and he tried to let it fall to the back of his mind, but it stayed rooted where it was, almost begging. He shut his eyes for a moment, seeing the steadily rising flames even from behind his eyelids, and took a deep breath. His heartbeat had calmed, and when he opened his eyes again, he managed a slow smile toward the other man.

“Thank you.” He managed to say, before curling up in himself and sighing. He wasn’t a weak person, and he didn’t think that anyone would be able to say he was after all that he had gone through, but lying there in front of Chanyeol he felt…exposed. Not in a bad way really, but in a way that he had only once been comfortable with Yixing seeing him. It was unsettling, letting someone else into his private life. And not just his private life, but letting Chanyeol in to see some of his thoughts, and let him see or really hear the dreams he was terrorized with. Chanyeol seemed to catch onto that, even in just the simple two words that Baekhyun managed to slip out.

“Don’t mention it.” he replied back, getting up from where he was and stepping over the candles that still formed a semi circle around Baekhyun’s bed.

Baekhyun wanted to reach out to him then, unsure if he was able to. He wasn’t sure if he was seeking comfort in Chanyeol solely because Yixing was not there, or if it was actually because he felt something toward the other Power. And it wasn’t like the two were strangers either, so the nature of their relationship was _good_. Still, Baekhyun felt hesitant to reach out to him, even through all their flirting and backwards teasing through the last few weeks.

Until Chanyeol turned to face him and stepped back through the flaming candles, face lit with the shadows of the fire sparking off of him, and held out his arms in the next second, silently asking if Baekhyun wanted to be picked up from where he was.

“This means nothing.” He told the other man, arms lifting as Chanyeol snorted at the reply.

“You saying it means nothing, usually indicates that it does or will mean something.” He replied, shaking his head even as the candles were snuffed out in the next second, little bodies of flame like will-o’-wisps marking their path towards Chanyeol room. “Besides, this is a simple courtesy, so that you don’t have nightmares for the rest of the night. I want to actually sleep, too, ya know.”

But even as Chanyeol said that, carrying Baekhyun lightly in his arms, he knew he was bluffing. The way the flames curved and twisted, and the general essence of the flames told Baekhyun otherwise. He could feel his own light resurrecting from the depths of his body, too, as it responded to Chanyeol being so close. They were walking a dangerous line, but was it truly dangerous? And would Yixing have cared? No he would probably come back and thank Chanyeol for keeping Baekhyun calm and safe through the nightmares.

It took them less than a minute to get to Chanyeol’s part of the cabin, and when there, the fire Power let Baekhyun down from his arms. Baekhyun went immediately to curl up in the larger man’s bed, back to the wall and space open for Chanyeol to climb into. He seemed a little surprised at the position that would have placed him in, making him the “little” spoon. Baekhyun’s scrunched his nose at the thought, but he always slept like this, and couldn’t stand it the other way around. He was just grateful that Yixing had never minded, and in fact loved that the other man insisted on the positions as well.

Yixing liked to be held in his sleep, especially when he knew it comforted Baekhyun to have someone to hold onto.

Chanyeol seemed to mind it for half a second before he nodded slowly and climbed into his own bed, back facing Baekhyun and neither of them saying a word for a while as they settled in beside one another.

Breathing now calmed from his dreams, and warmth emanating from Chanyeol’s body like a fire place, Baekhyun let go of his worries as he wrapped his arms around the man’s waist, curling into his back and rubbing his face between his shoulder blades to get comfortable in the space there. He could have sworn he heard Chanyeol’s breathing catch when he did that, but ignored the sound as he settled into his own space, warm and comfortable now.

He fell asleep quickly like that, heart strumming steady in his chest, and a slight shimmering of light casting him off to sleep.

 

The following two weeks were different than their first two. Not only had Baekhyun abandoned his own bed to sleep in Chanyeol’s much larger one each night, but the two woke each morning and Baekhyun actually felt safe, and warm, and loved.

It wasn’t like being with Yixing, this sort of warm morning routine. They didn’t fight over who would get up first, not like Baekhyun and Yixing did, but it was an astounding reflection or mirrored effect of how he and Yixing were. Soft in all the right places, but warm and bright in others.

Baekhyun really just wanted to kiss Chanyeol every morning, wanted to see if there was a difference there as well, or if he could feel something physically similar with both of them, if it was enough of a similarity that he wouldn’t be able to choose between them. He could choose both, and he knew that Yixing wouldn’t mind going out to find a larger bed to fit all three of them. Wouldn’t mind sharing Chanyeol, either, because Yixing had enough love to give that he was overflowing with it at times.

The three of them would fit together too well, Baekhyun knew. With powers like they had – Baekhyun with his shimmering light, Yixing with his healing caress, and Chanyeol with his steady flames. They would fit so well together, like puzzle pieces.

He woke up that morning thinking of that, and immediately frowned because Chanyeol hadn’t even tried to kiss him in the four, almost five weeks they had been settling in at the camp. The two constantly went back and forth with their teasing, enough that Baekhyun was sure the other man liked him, even a little.

In addition, there were others joining them every week, Jongin running quickly to the main portal to greet them, and to be sure that it stayed open for all those wanting to come through with good intentions. There were other healers that joined them, and some others that had talents Baekhyun had never seen before. There was one – Baekhyun believed his name was Taeyong – that could change his appearance like a chameleon did, changing subtle facial features, and then sometimes even looking like a different person altogether.

Not only that, but every day they went to the training arena, Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun more and more. The harder the two went at their training, the more people that crowded to watch them. They used their gifts like little spark of color flying, trying to distract the other. And Chanyeol had kept their promise, of the questions and tasks if Baekhyun won, and then the question game that he had settled into if Chanyeol won their matches. Over the last few weeks it was like they wanted the other to win, just to see what question they would ask, but they also pushed each other, too. The whole back and forth was entertaining, something that Baekhyun looked forward to each day.

They would also want to win themselves, if only for the fact that then they would get to ask a question, and then have the hope of hearing a good answer to a complicated question.

“You forgot to ask me, yesterday.” Baekhyun said, waking that morning and seeing Chanyeol already halfway across the room. One of these days, he was going to catch the man before he was able to get up out of bed, and just pull him back down into his grasp, not letting him go anywhere. Baekhyun almost wanted to do that now, and wondered what was coming over him.

Maybe it was just that he hadn’t received much physical affection over the last month since being separated from Yixing. And even though cuddling into Chanyeol at the end of every day was nice, Baekhyun wanted more.

He wasn’t sure exactly how much more – he could only sense the budding of light in his core, wanting release. Baekhyun couldn’t ask Chanyeol for that thought, could he?

Chanyeol turned to look back at him from across the room, a small smile dwindling on the edge of his lips, like amusement sparking to life amongst his features. And then recognition and like a memory coming forth from the deep crevices of his mind. He nodded slowly and then held up a finger, dipping into the other room.

In the next second Baekhyun heard the shower start and he frowned, deep-set wrinkle coming to life between his brows. He settled slowly back into the comfort of the mattress and pillows, feeling a bit lonely in the bed then, and not missing even a little bit of the scent left lingering behind from Chanyeol’s side of the mattress. It had been like this for the last two weeks, with each day growing warmer, Baekhyun’s inhibitions slipping further down the drain. He wondered slowly if Yixing had found someone, too, and wondered if Baekhyun would have to compete with this other person to get Yixing back. It wasn’t like that for Chanyeol, though, not in Baekhyun’s mind.

The two were different, and Baekhyun couldn’t solemnly promise if it ever came up that he would choose Yixing over anyone in a moment’s notice, but there was something about Chanyeol that so complimented what Baekhyun had with Yixing, that it would be a hard decision, even if he already knew the answer to the unspoken question. It wasn’t really a matter of choice between them either, as he knew Yixing wouldn’t make him choose. But it was different in that neither of them had strayed from each other for anything serious. They had taken others to bed, had others join them as well to create new dynamics, and to just have fun.

So maybe that was what Baekhyun wanted, just a little bit of fun.

Except he knew that the smoldering of those flames within Chanyeol had prompted something within himself, too. Knew it, and craved it, and hoped that when Yixing felt it, too, he wasn’t so far off to object to the addition of one person in their bed.

Baekhyun frowned at all of his thoughts though, because here he was thinking of all of that while Chanyeol was in the other room, no true indication that Chanyeol meant to follow through on any of his subtle hints, and his teasing flirtation. Or his careful consideration of Baekhyun’s well being. So he hopped up out of bed, stripping as he walked through the room, and padded softly into the bathroom where the shower was running.

Because why the hell not? And it would prompt the answer from Chanyeol right then and there, wouldn’t it?

Baekhyun wasn’t shy about the way he slipped into the bathroom, Chanyeol’s deep humming causing him to smile softly at the sound. He was pulling the curtain away in the next second, Chanyeol’s bare backside present and there, just…there for him to see.

Maybe he hadn’t thought this all the way through.

Still, he got into the shower quickly, pulling the curtain back to where it was before he was reaching around Chanyeol for the soap, trying for a bit of normalcy. The other man’s eyes widened upon seeing him there, but otherwise didn’t say a word, the two sharing the space and also trying very hard to avoid looking down, or avoid looking into the other’s eyes.

It was awkward, but Baekhyun didn’t hear Chanyeol complaining about being in the shower together. That had to mean something positive, right?

Lathering the shampoo into his mess of black hair, Baekhyun frowned as he repeated, “You never asked me your question yesterday.”

Turning his head with a raised eyebrow, Chanyeol opened his mouth to speak only to glance down once before gulping quick, turning around and facing the showerhead like it was nothing at all. He answered the question, though, even after a minute’s deliberation.

“It wasn’t like I didn’t try. By the time I got around to it, you were already out cold on the bed.” And he huffed a laugh too, “I was half tempted to wake you up when I found you, just curled in on yourself and hogging the blankets, too. You know that you’re a blanket thief, right? I should exile you back to your own bed for just that.”

A half smile crept up on Baekhyun’s lips at hearing that, getting bold and pressing his body into Chanyeol’s from behind, ignoring the _something_ that pressed up against Chanyeol’s legs. He was sure that Chanyeol was having a hard time ignoring it, as well.

“And has anyone ever told you that you hog the water in the shower? You’re _too_ _tall_.” And the last part of his sentence came out like a whine as he said the words, pushing Chanyeol just slightly so that he twisted their bodies to the side, making sure that the water now splashed Baekhyun’s left as Chanyeol grinned and laughed, hitting his own thigh as he did so.

Chanyeol was quick to turn, catching Baekhyun’s arms within his own and staring down at him. Baekhyun’s eyes widened, their bodies so closely pressed together. And yet, Chanyeol didn’t lean away, didn’t stumble back at the proximity. No, he just grinned, and then he finally came up with a question to ask Baekhyun.

“Kiss me.” He said, not a question, but more like a plea.

Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed in on him, knowing what was going on, or at least hoping that he knew what was going on.

“That’s not a question, Park Chanyeol.” He said, not able to help the dim shimmer of light that came from his skin, his emotions running high, and his body unable to control its natural reaction to the excitement he felt in the pit of his stomach. Not only that, but he was dangerously close to just asking if he could take Chanyeol right then and there.

It was clear that Baekhyun had gone far too long without feeling someone beneath him.

“Will you please kiss me?” Chanyeol amended after a small amount of time, eyes going soft, yet smoldering as he looked down at Baekhyun, pleading for Baekhyun to kiss him.

Baekhyun certainly wouldn’t have minded a little begging, the only things coming to his mind of all the times Chanyeol said he wouldn’t mind Baekhyun being rough with him during training. Maybe he would take him up on it today, not leaving anything behind as he put his all into it.

For now, though, he had a question to answer, and he did so while on his tip-toes, lips pressing into Chanyeol’s for a mere second before he was falling back down and moving so that he got the full spray of the water, smiling with his back turned to Chanyeol, and wondering how long it would take for the other man to respond.

Not long, it seemed, as he huffed at Baekhyun’s back.

“That wasn’t a real kiss, Byun.” He said, and Baekhyun could pick up on the slight grumble in his voice that had him wanting to laugh.

“Was, too.” he said in reply, hands up to his scalp to wash the shampoo clean. “I don’t think you understand the definition of a kiss, if that’s the case. It’s when two people press their lips together for a period of time. No one said it had to last longer than a second.”

Chanyeol looked exasperated when Baekhyun actually did turn to face him, and he found that a bit of an accomplishment.

“And here I was, thinking that you were actually starting to like me.” Chanyeol said, pouting as the water continued to fall on the both of them. It was no longer a very awkward shower. At least, not if they kept their eyes to above the other’s waist, ignoring what else was there.

Baekhyun barked out a laugh and doubled over, “You’re kidding right? Are you actually pouting because of this?”

Leaning up, he rolled his eyes as he twisted and turned enough so that his face was in front of Chanyeol’s. He kissed him again, and then again when he had pulled away and Chanyeol was still pouting. After a while of this, of Baekhyun just leaning in and kissing him for a few seconds only to come back, Chanyeol was grinning wide, and letting his hands fall to Baekhyun’s waist, pulling him closer and only making Baekhyun’s eyebrows raise in question, especially when Chanyeol didn’t comment on the proximity of, well, everything else between them.

“You don’t think that…Yixing will mind, do you?” Chanyeol asked after a little hesitation, brows furrowing in deep concentration. He was worried, Baekhyun could tell, even though it wasn’t necessary in the slightest.

He shook his head and held a hand up to Chanyeol’s cheek, “Yixing isn’t a territorial type person. He’s always cared for what makes me happy, and neither of us are strangers to adding someone to our bed.” Just the suggestion of that had Chanyeol looking surprised, but also pleased. And Baekhyun’s own response to Chanyeol’s expression was to let out a soft laugh, “I’m not going into this without Yixing in mind, though. He’s not here, but my decisions do rely heavily on him. He’s…he’s been my partner for a while now. In being with you, I’m not then abandoning him, or choosing between you two.”

Chanyeol understood, saying as much, and then leaning into Baekhyun’s touch. He was leaning over him then, too, a shiver running down his spine as he went to turn the water off as it still poured over both of them. They had become too enthralled with the conversation at hand that neither had cared to turn off the spray of water.

“I know.” Chanyeol said, “I don’t think anyone here doesn’t know what kind of relationship you have with Yixing. I mean…since before we were set free, I wanted to be close to the two of you. Each summer, I tried. It was the same the last two years though, with both of you kind of clinging to each other, not just for safety, but comfort too. I wanted that with someone, wanted it with both of you. We all kind of belonged to each other for a while, inside the labs, and then we all separated and went our own ways and we lost that until Junmyeon brought us all back together.”

There was silence between them before Baekhyun was taking in a deep breath, and quickly wiggling out of Chanyeol’s grasp, stepping from behind the shower curtain and into the rest of the bathroom to wrap himself in a towel, drying himself off. Chanyeol watched before grabbing one on his own, shaking his hair dry with the towel first before making his way to wrap it around himself, leaving Baekhyun with a prime view of every curve and angle of Chanyeol’s body.

Like he was taunting him, just begging for him.

Chanyeol continued then, “I don’t mind sharing, just as long as you don’t, just as long as Yixing doesn’t.”

Baekhyun could have laughed at that, because just the thought of Chanyeol being 100% okay with the three of them being happy altogether was like a blessing in disguise. They had all known each other from such a young age, had all been captured and taken from their home, and then forced into cells, experimented on. And yet they had all survived. The nine of them had survived, and here they were – nearly all of them together, save for Yixing, and they were discussing…well happiness. Because that’s what it would be, Baekhyun knew.

He could – and would – be happy with the two of them at his side.

But of course, he had to break the tension a little, because he didn’t want to get too hot and heavy about all of this so early in the morning. He had just wanted to kiss Chanyeol when he first woke up, and he needed to get back to that light and easy flirting, because that’s exactly what he needed now.

“Don’t think this means I’m going easy on you during training.” Baekhyun said, eyes narrowing as he stepped from the steam-filled bathroom and back to his own room, where he still kept all of his clothing. Chanyeol trailed along after him, hand gripped to the edge of his towel.

“I wouldn’t expect you to go easy. After all, there’s been so many people left watching us. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to disappoint them with a poor show.” And a chuckle ran through Chanyeol, making Baekhyun grin as he bent to pick up his clothes from the suitcase still left unpacked on the floor. He turned with a pointed finger and a nod in the other direction, back towards Chanyeol’s room.

“Get dressed. If you’re not out by the time I’m ready, I’m leaving your sorry ass here to get breakfast on your own.”

Chanyeol ran back to his room, but not before commenting on Baekhyun’s evaluation of his ass, “My ass is anything but sorry, Byun. But maybe you’ll remedy that later.” And with a wink, he was out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. Baekhyun swore softly beneath his breath at even the thought – and desire, if he was reading Chanyeol’s flirting clearly. The fire Power was going to be in for it later that was for sure.

Baekhyun blew out a breath as he got himself dressed, trying to rush just to make a show of leaving without Chanyeol if he did in fact take longer than Baekhyun did. He couldn’t help the smile that danced across his lips, however. Because he was genuinely, truly happy in that moment.

 

The other Powers knew something was going on, and maybe Baekhyun was being a little too obvious about it, with the constant peering over at Chanyeol, and the bedroom eyes they exchanged every so often. But how could anyone blame them, really?

It was during lunch that a few of the other Powers came to sit by them. Baekhyun knew most of them now, and knew over the course of the last few weeks that he wasn’t the only one to get closer to his partner over this last month. Minseok and Junmyeon, though they kept to themselves mostly, were evidently into one another. Not just them though, but Jongdae and Kyungsoo, too. Both pairs were a little quieter about the whole thing, but Baekhyun still read it loud and clear. And usually Baekhyun didn’t care for anyone else’s love life, didn’t pay much attention to anyone else either, but it made him smile over the thought that after just five years they were all finding someone to keep them all happy, to keep them all sane. The fact that they had all found some type of solace within each other, and were genuinely happy? It made Baekhyun realize that they could all get past the nightmares that plagued them.

Because apparently they each suffered from similar trauma in the form of dreams.

Chanyeol had confessed to it the morning after he had helped Baekhyun wake from his own nightmare, and had told Baekhyun that the previous summer, Jongdae had been plagued with such things, as well. They were all a little worse for wear, but they were fighting through.

They were living and breathing, and somewhere safe from those that would harm them.

And maybe Baekhyun was just a bit clingy, a bit touchy that afternoon, but he couldn’t help poking his nose at Chanyeol’s collarbones and neck, taking a deep breath in of that heady scent, and imagining the slow steady pulse of flames surrounding him. It was a different kind of turn on – that image that had both saved and calmed him, now making him want to drag Chanyeol back to their cabin and lock the doors behind them.

“Wow, can’t imagine what Yixing will say when he comes back to this.” Jongdae murmured into his food, taking slow bites and also trying not to look Chanyeol or Baekhyun in the eyes.

The fire Power shrugged when Baekhyun looked at him, as if asking for him to speak up on their behalf. Not that their situation needed defending, but he could have sworn he heard Sehun and Jongin snickering into their own food, while Kyungsoo glanced away as if he hadn’t heard anything just now.

Baekhyun flicked a wrist, a dagger of light now pointed towards Jongdae’s Adam’s apple. He had learned several things over the last month of training at the Camp of Energy, this being one of those things. It was a neat trick, being able to form things with his light that he hadn’t been able to before. And though Baekhyun didn’t usually use his gift of light as a threat, he poised the dagger close to Jongdae and cocked his head to the side.

The light dissipated in the next second, and Baekhyun didn’t miss the slide of electricity ring like static across the table, forming in small bundles at the apex of Jongdae’s fingertips, ready and waiting for a counterstrike against him. He wondered who would win? The Power of Light, or Power of Thunder?

Not that their mini showdown lasted very long, with Chanyeol clearing his throat and drawing their attention toward him.

“Yixing wouldn’t care either way, or have you not met the healer?”

Kyungsoo was next to clear the tension in the air, swiftly poking and prodding at Jongdae even with the electric current running all over his hands and arms. Kyungsoo seemed immune, or so powerfully using his own force to propel the electricity away from himself.

“Don’t be rude.” Kyungsoo said, eyes narrowing on Jongdae, only making Jongin and Sehun giggle in their little corner of the table, all eyes going to them. The youngest ones of the group, and yet they didn’t care for the eyes all narrowed on them now. Sehun simply swept up the remaining plates before them in his wind, drawing them back towards himself and consuming the remains of their late lunch.

Baekhyun wasn’t sure what to make of all of that, not when they hadn’t all been together like this in quite a while. They were bound to step on some toes, but there was also laughter and smiles across the table as they sat and spoke. Like brothers, or long lost cousins. They were all a little quirky, some bound to fight and hassle one another. But they were family all the same. And Baekhyun wondered why it had taken him so long to see that, and to only cling to Yixing when he could have had this familiarity since the very beginning. They all could have.

Chanyeol leaned in and kissed Baekhyun’s temple then, the small gesture sweet and soft. Like a reminder. That he was there – not just physically, but emotionally as well. Like how Yixing often squeezed Baekhyun’s hand and pulsed that healing sweetness into him, like a wave crashing down on his heart, expelling every bad thought or emotion. Chanyeol’s kiss was like that, too, he knew. Except it was more like a little bottle of heat that pulsed through his veins, warming everything up to his core.

It made him smile, but also nudge against the other man’s body, eyes going up to meet his.

“I’m gonna kick your ass later.” Baekhyun said, a promise.

Chanyeol laughed at him, shaking his head, “I didn’t expect anything else.”

 

Baekhyun did in fact kick Chanyeol’s ass in training, with the added bonus that their promise of task or question was still on the table, and Baekhyun knew exactly what he was going to ask. And he was going to ask it, rather than demand it as a task from Chanyeol, because demanding such a thing wasn’t in Baekhyun’s nature, nor did he want to stretch this new and bright thing in his life, stretch it until it broke under pressure.

So when the two got back to their cabin for the night, the fire still burning behind them in the center of the camp, Baekhyun couldn’t hold it in anymore. The door had just barely fallen shut behind them when he reached up and dragged Chanyeol’s face down to his, kissing him solidly on the lips, and not caring for the consequences of his actions. He only hoped that Chanyeol approved, said yes to his question. Because Baekhyun was already gleaming from the inside out, his skin like multi-faceted diamonds, glimmering. He couldn’t control that aspect of his power, and maybe he wouldn’t learn how, but Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind for the time being. In fact, Baekhyun could feel the fire Power grinning against his lips, only pulling away for a second.

“Is there something you’d like to ask me?” Chanyeol asked, aggravatingly slow as Baekhyun stood there with his fingers itching to capture Chanyeol in his grasp again. He was hungry, thirsty, and also impatient.

Baekhyun grimaced, unsure even how to ask this, and not truly wanting to say it outright, but feeling as if he needed to, to get his point across. He wanted Chanyeol, wanted to be inside of him, and wanted to feel that closeness that he’d been craving since Yixing had slipped away to the other side of the camp. Junmyeon had promised that Yixing and the others were all coming back next week, rather than waiting the two weeks for them like Baekhyun had thought.

But there was only so long he could wait to feel release. And it just wasn’t the same on his own.

“Please.” Baekhyun managed to say, leaning up on his toes again to drag Chanyeol down by his lips, an arm looping around his neck, while the other had a hand fisted in Chanyeol’s shirt, only dragging him closer. There was a smile and then a laugh bubbling over on Chanyeol’s lips, effectively making Baekhyun smile, too, but he knew that Chanyeol was going to lean away in the next second and was going to drag this out, make Baekhyun beg to fuck him.

Because even though Baekhyun was pretty sure Chanyeol wanted to be on the receiving end of this situation, he was also a glutton for punishment and would rile Baekhyun up to the last point.

“That’s not a question, Byun Baekhyun.” He said, that smile curving on his lips as he pulled away, using the same words that Baekhyun had used only that same morning when they had been in the shower together. It seemed like forever ago, and maybe that was because the day had gone by too slowly, and maybe because Baekhyun was just itching to kiss Chanyeol, to climb into bed together, to be fare more intimately close than they had been this morning, or in the weeks past. It had taken Baekhyun some time first to get comfortable with Yixing being gone, and then to be comfortable enough to banter back and forth with Chanyeol.

And now here he was, nearly dying to just kiss Chanyeol, and to fuck him until the whole cabin was gleaming with his inner light. He wanted others to ask what had happened the night previous, to see the faint glow on his skin the morning after, and he wanted to see Chanyeol’s reaction to that light and how it always had a propensity to get blindingly bright when Baekhyun fell over the edge.

He wanted it – no, needed it. And he wasn’t against begging for it, either.

“Will you please just let me fuck you?” he asked after a moment, lip drooping into a pout as he looked up at Chanyeol, arms around his neck and fingers dancing against his skin, making the fire Power shiver beneath him.

He clucked his tongue at Baekhyun, but he also couldn’t help the smile that came up on his lips.

“You have such a dirty mouth.” Chanyeol commented and then Baekhyun just couldn’t take it anymore, the light beneath his skin vibrating like a thousand stars in the sky, and Chanyeol could obviously see that, too, because he nodded. “Always.” He said, a promise, but also a clear yes by the way he says it. It’s a yes, and suddenly Baekhyun is grabbing at Chanyeol, pulling his face down to his for the third time in the span of a few minutes, one arm wrapped around his neck while his fingers are pulling ever so gently at Chanyeol’s hair, making his head pull back so that Baekhyun has access to his neck, only allowing for his lips to turn down and kiss little patterns across Chanyeol’s skin.

As if Baekhyun wasn’t the only one with a dirty mouth, the sound that escapes Chanyeol is a mix between Heaven and Hell, making Baekhyun vibrate with joy.

He’s pushing him back then, closer to Baekhyun’s room rather than Chanyeol’s. He doesn’t care that his bed is smaller, doesn’t care that Chanyeol’s bed is more comfortable. He just wants a bed, wants it now, and wants to strip Chanyeol of his clothes as soon as he possibly can.

Of course, Chanyeol is already halfway there, the thought just occurring to him now that Baekhyun’s making them walk backwards toward the bedroom. And suddenly they’ve both got their hands on the edge of Chanyeol’s shirt, his boxers peaking up as they always do from the edges of his jeans. It’s uncomfortable, seeing the strain against Chanyeol’s jeans, when Baekhyun can feel himself as well, and just wanting the friction, the release, the heat and light.

He wants it all, and has gone without it for a month now that he’s ravenous for it.

The two of them fall back, stumbling, onto the bed, and they can’t help the laughter between them at the stumble and mix of limbs. Baekhyun’s got one of his knees next to Chanyeol’s hip, while the other knee is very close to the apex of Chanyeol’s thighs. Chanyeol’s arms are around Baekhyun’s waist, one of his hands going to the small of his back, and suddenly they’re back at the training arena, with Baekhyun hovering over Chanyeol with his body weight just slightly pushing into Chanyeol’s. It’s not awkward though, despite the laughter. It feels right, and Baekhyun craves more of it, wanting nothing more than to continue the laughter.

He’s never had sex without laughing over this or that, a sound that he or Yixing had made, or just the situation they find themselves in, having sex in such odd positions, or in such odd locations. He’s always been aware of the fact that good sex can’t come without a bit of laughter, even at one’s own expense, and Baekhyun knows that he’ll be taking that ideology to the grave, but not without spreading it to Chanyeol as well. Good, personable sex is never about the fast and rough of it, even though that in and of itself has its own perks. It’s about the intimacy and the smiles and just the general closeness of those involved.

And maybe he’s just a huge sap when it comes to first times, but he can’t help it, and he buries his face in Chanyeol’s neck, teeth grazing a point there as he lets out a small sound from the back of his throat. He’s already gleaming so bright, straining against his pants, and moving for any bit of friction that he has a feeling this won’t last very long tonight.

Chanyeol seems to catch onto that thought as well, because despite the fact that his head is turned so that Baekhyun has all the space to graze his teeth along Chanyeol’s skin, his fingers and hands are pulling and pushing at the fabric of Baekhyun’s clothing, asking if he can take this or that off. He pulls away with a whine, tongue lapping at a spot on Chanyeol’s neck before he’s situated above the fire Power, his warmth in his fingers and positioned right at Baekhyun’s crotch as well.

He wonders if their gifts will come out in just the same way that his and Yixing’s always do when they climax, because Baekhyun can only imagine the stroke of heat propelling him over the edge while inside of Chanyeol, his skin already crawling with the warmth, and shivering in the change of temperature, heat expanding and creating a plummet in his stomach, like an anxious pull.

“Unless you’ve rather do this dry, I suggest we both take the pants off.” Chanyeol said, voice deep and even more sultry than it had been earlier.

They’re all a tangle then, as they get off of each other hastily, Baekhyun both trying to pull his own pants off, while also trying to help Chanyeol with his own. It caused enough of a mess for Chanyeol to start into a giggling fit, the sound so soft and vibrant.

And then, just as they’ve finally made a show of stripping their clothes, Baekhyun right back at lavishing Chanyeol with his tongue along his neck, jaw-line and collarbones in succession, the fire Power sighed, a bit exasperated as he makes his next comment.

“How are you even supposed to do this with three people? We’re clumsy enough and it’s just the two of us.”

Baekhyun grins against Chanyeol’s skin, reaching down by the side of his bed as he holds up a finger for Chanyeol to wait, the other not so patient anymore. He’s lying there naked before Baekhyun and he looks so good, muscles strong and evident. He’s warm to the touch, just as he always is, and Baekhyun supposes that’s a very good thing considering the fact that he doesn’t think he can wait for the lube to warm up any other way.

He hands Chanyeol the bottle while he digs around for the condoms he knows that Yixing packed into his belongings as he always does. Because Yixing knows how Baekhyun can get, and he’s more than prepared – with other toys, odds and ends revealing themselves as he continues digging through his bag beside his bed. The next week was going to be interesting, trying to find just what Chanyeol liked in bed, whereas he and Yixing already knew quite well what the other liked and despised. It would be a steady challenge, and it would be funny to see how they all fit together when it was the three of them, rather than just two. Different dynamics, but still heavily pleasurable, Baekhyun was sure.

“Yixing is more patient than I am.” Baekhyun commented, finally finding the box and procuring one square slip from it, trying not to be impatient enough that he ripped it with his teeth. It never did well for keeping the condom actually intact when he did something like that, and Yixing would forever scold him.

Even if they knew everyone they slept with, even if they constantly got checked – as anyone should – they were both big fans of easy cleanups, and not much effort. Because all Baekhyun wanted to do when he was finished was turn Yixing around on the bed and settle his arms into his waist, pulling him close and going fast to sleep.

It put a downer on things when they had to clean up more than just the absolute minimum.

Chanyeol’s brow furrowed at his response, but then he figured out why exactly he had responded that way when Baekhyun made them switch, made Chanyeol open the condom rapper while Baekhyun took hold of the lube bottle and grinned, satisfied, with the warmth of it as it fell onto his two fingers, the show of it enough of a warming for the other Power before Baekhyun was grinning and situating his fingers right at Chanyeol’s entrance, going in smooth and having to supress his own moan at how _tight_ it is.

Chanyeol jerks forward at the sensation, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and suddenly he’s become pliant in Baekhyun’s grasp. With two fingers trying to even out, and stretch Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s other hand is held hovering just over Chanyeol’s dip and curve of his waist, gripping lightly as he just watches Chanyeol let out little, frustrated noises. Baekhyun could probably get off from just that image, but he wants to feel inside, wants to _be inside._ He can be patient just this once.

Except maybe not so much, because it’s about a minute later, of those soft moans and slight begging from Chanyeol, that Baekhyun taunts him by adding in a third finger.

“Fuck, Baekhyun.” He groans out, eyes clenched tight with the curve of his spine dipping up from the mattress, ever closer to Baekhyun’s free hand, which is just roaming now up and down Chanyeol’s body, wondering at the curve and muscle of it.

“Now who has the dirty mouth, hmm?” Baekhyun asks, but Chanyeol doesn’t care, not when Baekhyun pushes his fingers deeper inside and he convulses a little because of the mixture of pleasure and pain. His skin is heating too, and Baekhyun never imagined how it would come out in Chanyeol when his light was so volatile and so quick to react to all of his emotions. Baekhyun wondered if they were all a little like that, and maybe it was just because he was horny and needed release, and needed friction and skin, and _heat_ , but he suddenly wanted to find out what everyone else’s tells were, too.

He would be happy with just Chanyeol right now, though.

Baekhyun’s patience in that moment is wearing thin, however, and even with three fingers inside of Chanyeol, he’s still tight. He wants to just slip inside, and though he knows if they were doing this the other way around, there would need to be a fourth digit added, and then a whole hell of a lot more lube used in between. But they weren’t doing it the other way, and Baekhyun’s been patient enough, what with even getting to this point, and seeing Chanyeol open in front of him, legs spread wide and landing lightly on Baekhyun’s shoulders, his cock laid there against the expanse of his stomach, twitching and begging as Chanyeol had his eyes closed, soft whimpers escaping him.

He’s pulling his fingers out in the next second, hovering over Chanyeol’s entrance and trying to decipher the look on his face as he whines, lips quivering.

“In, in, in.” he begs Baekhyun, hands waving for the hurried movement, causing Baekhyun to push in slowly. There’s a luxorious sound that escapes Chanyeol’s mouth then, which has Baekhyun shivering, too, and then there’s a stroke of heat against his cock, without even moving inside of Chanyeol first. Is this what it feels like to be with a fire Power, he wondered.

But no, this is just what it feels like to be with Chanyeol.

Baekhyun is careful, despite his impatience, because he knows for this to be good he has to be a tad bit patient even if it is killing him. His skin is already dewy, and he can already smell Chanyeol’s essence everywhere around him, like burning flames. There’s no smoke, and for a second Baekhyun wonders when that dream will come true – of saving Chanyeol from smoke that litters their cabin like a thick fog. Maybe it was simply that, a dream, and maybe he shouldn’t be worrying about that at all, considering the fact that he’s buried deep inside of Chanyeol at the moment.

When be begins to move, Chanyeol sits up, making the fit even tighter as muscles strain to accommodate the move and pull of Chanyeol’s body. Baekhyun groans now, too, and the only light surrounding them is the one expelling from his own skin, as the two had not turned the lights on after entering the cabin, enough light from the burning fire outside to illuminate their path to the bed.

Now there’s just the glimmering of Baekhyun’s skin, which is so much different than the flaming heat that Chanyeol expels from himself, making it leap and smolder all across his own skin, and then in the space between them, where they’re now meeting and intimate. It’s unlike the healing caress that Baekhyun is used to with Yixing, who’s gifts show themselves during sex with this inner stroke, like a longer finger just stroking down Baekhyun’s core, propelling him forward into ecstasy.

The heat that comes with being with Chanyeol is similar, but so much _more_ , too. Yixing’s gift is soft and by all means pleasant, like the tingle of a feather gliding across one’s skin. He can’t imagine what it would be like, feeling both of them at once. With Chanyeol beneath him, and Yixing at his shoulder, kissing along his spine and hovering so close, guiding his hands where he want them to go on Chanyeol’s body. He can feel it already, the heat stroke up and down his entire being as he pumps into Chanyeol and they both fall apart right there.

“You’re so pretty.” Chanyeol murmurs, voice breaking with the words as Baekhyun is losing himself in the sensation of not just the warmth, but the slick tightness of it all. He’s been so used to Yixing, so used to the way that he moves, twists and turns, that this new sensation is…doubly immortalizing.

“I – literally – have my dick inside of you right now.” He pants, eyes opening a tad to glare down at Chanyeol, yet he’s right in front of him, nose to his nose, and tongue lavishing him in the next second, silencing whatever protest he was about to voice at the other man calling him pretty. He’s not pretty, he wants to admit, and doesn’t really like the word all that much, and yet when Chanyeol says it, when Yixing says it, he wants to scrunch his nose in defeat because he knows how both of them mean it, and he almost wants to accept the word because of what it then means to them, and how they see him.

Because despite the fact that they use the word, when there are so many others in so many different languages, he knows what they mean by it, and that’s why he lets Chanyeol silence his protests with his kisses.

“You’re still beautiful.” Chanyeol says as he pulls away from him, tongue making one last move to lick at Baekhyun’s lips, like there’s something sweet leftover there.

And maybe he is, just slightly beautiful in that moment, because with the high of coming down, there’s still this dense glow illuminating his skin all over, sweat sticking to his brow, and making him look like the sun and moon’s love child. There’s something perplexing about the sheen on his body, enough so that it makes Chanyeol scrunch his eyebrows together and pout, which only has Baekhyun confused, even if he knows vaguely what he’s reacting to.

“Why did we have to wait so long for this?” Chanyeol whines out, face sinking down into Baekhyun’s neck, and just breathing in his scent. He can’t help the smile that shows on his face at Chanyeol’s breath ghosting over his body, even when he groans another pump into him before pulling out, a thick sigh overcastting both of them.

“No idea.” He replies, “But we’re most definitely doing it again.” And he hushes any response from Chanyeol by capturing his lips in his own, teeth biting at Chanyeol’s lips, before he’s got both of his hands losing themselves in the mess that is Chanyeol’s brown-black hair. It’s all a mess of curls half stuck to his forehead because of the sweat covering both of their bodies, and just the fact that the man never really brushes it out well enough after showering. It had been a bit of a mess ever since this morning, and Baekhyun had wanted to bury his fingers in it ever since.

A chuckle runs through Baekhyun’s body as he pulls away, shaking his head and regretfully getting up and away from the warmth that is Chanyeol’s body. The other man pouts, leaning in for more of Baekhyun’s kisses and gentle nibbling, until he’s holding up a finger, saying he’ll be right back, disposing of the used condom now slick in his hands, and shivering at the cold of the cabin floor, compared to where he had just been in Chanyeol’s arm. The man is like his very own space heater, and Baekhyun is quick to return to him, nudging him to turn over in the smaller bed so that Baekhyun’s front is square with Chanyeol’s butt, the most comfortable spot the two could possibly be in.

“We can go to –.” But Chanyeol hasn’t even finished before Baekhyun is shaking his head into the fire Power’s back, getting more and more comfortable despite the tight space, their naked bodies close. He’s comfortable like this, and it’s bad enough that he had to get up to get rid of the condom. Chanyeol still tries to convince him to get back up, though, “I have to clean off, too? Or would you rather me sleep in my own cum?”

Baekhyun chuckles before he’s nibbling at Chanyeol’s ear, “Or I can clean you up myself?” and there’s even a shudder that runs through the other’s body at the suggestion of such a thing. It doesn’t stop him from moving them, until he’s on top of Chanyeol once more in the same night, and lowering himself down so his face is square with Chanyeol’s abdomen, tongue licking away between the lines the mess that they had made. It’s too salty, and he doesn’t exactly enjoy the flavor or taste, but the man beneath him is enjoying it, hands dipping into Baekhyun’s hair and keeping him there for a second or two until the mess is near completely gone, and just the stickiness of Baekhyun’s tongue on his skin remains.

“You’re a glutton for punishment.” Chanyeol says, breath caught in his throat at the words, even as Baekhyun slips back into place behind him, arms lolling back at his sides and pulling him flush against his body.

He sticks his tongue out at the last second, Chanyeol catching the gesture, before he says, “You like it.”

A deep chuckle and a rumble of laughter that shakes the bed, and then Chanyeol’s arms going to rest on top of Baekhyun’s delicate fingers as they encapsulate his waist, one hand lying gently against his chest. Chanyeol reaches to kiss his fingers, and nods.

“Yeah, I do.”

 

Yixing returns the next week, just like Junmyeon promises, and Baekhyun is sure that his forever partner can tell that there is something there between Baekhyun and Chanyeol as he goes basically running to the healer.

It's nothing new for the two to cling to one another, and maybe it's because it's been so long since they've seen each other - just a little over a month and a half - but Baekhyun swears that he smells smoother, headier. And Baekhyun is just tugging at Yixing's arm to follow after him like it's nothing.

"Slow down, slow down," Yixing says with a grin and a laugh. He's just as happy to see Baekhyun as he is to see Yixing. Maybe even more so, because Yixing can't stop looking at him, can't stop seeing the grin plastered across his face, and the ever-glow that is lighting up the visible skin he is showing off. The thin sleeves he's been wearing are up to his elbows and there's light shining through the thin fabric, too.

Baekhyun doesn't care what everyone else is saying, or thinking as he stops Yixing there and kisses him. He's missed his healer, missed the one who has driven away his darkness and nightmares for the past five years. Just a few weeks with Chanyeol would not change the fact that he's belonged to Yixing, and Yixing to him for what seems like their entire lives. Chanyeol will be a good addition, Baekhyun has no doubts about that, but he's happy to see Yixing, ecstatic even, and he's not afraid to show everyone, either.

"Don't tell me you've been waiting all these weeks to see me, and that's all I get," Yixing says, grin sloping across his lips before he's cocking his head to the side and kissing Baekhyun himself. There are a few that clear their throats, but there's a show of some of the other Powers going off on their way, taking their own friends that had come back from the other side of camp.

It's Junmyeon clearing his throat in the next second, Irene and Minseok behind him. Minseok is there as a partner, with eyelashes frosted with snow as if the Power had been playing in it that morning, and Irene is standing there with her hands neatly folded in front of her, smile soft as she looks at all the others. She's a leader type, just like Junmyeon is, so Baekhyun can see how the two get along, and how close they are to actual siblings.

"It's good to have you back, Yixing." Junmyeon says, and then he's nodding toward Baekhyun at Yixing's side, "I'll know for next time, to keep you two together. But I don't think you did very poorly with Chanyeol. Not poorly at all." and Minseok speaks up behind them, as he has something to add as well.

"The newbies couldn't get enough of those two in the training rinks, are you kidding?" and at that comment Yixing is the one to grin, looking over at Baekhyun with warmth, surprise, and splendor.

He's looking at Baekhyun with such a look of wonder and appreciation that Baekhyun can't help but smile and nod as Yixing asks if he's been training. He's like a puppy then, begging for a treat or any show of appreciation. He knows that he doesn't have to beg, though, because Yixing gives it to him freely.

"There's a lot you missed, a lot that I need to catch you up on." and Yixing catches on quickly to that, especially when Chanyeol is moving ever closer to their little circle, that large, infamous grin of his ever-present on his lips. He's not so much taunting with it, as he is just happy with their situation. Baekhyun is happy, too, and he's excited to tell Yixing of this new development because he has known for years now that Yixing would always back Baekhyun in what makes him happy. Knows that Yixing has never been opposed to adding others into their routine, and though the others had not lasted very long when they did add people in, Baekhyun has a feeling that Chanyeol will last for a while.

They've all gone through so much that it can't not last, can't not be absolutely perfect. Because he knows Yixing, too well, just as Yixing knows him, and the glimmer in his skin at both of their smiles does wonders to his own happiness that it just makes the light brighter, causing Irene and Minseok to look away, Minseok making a comment on how it's brighter than sun on snow.

Yixing calms the brightness of Baekhyun's light, something that the other man has never been able to do before, but he's calming it now with a simple press to Baekhyun's temple. The light dims and he's standing there with wide eyes, glancing between all of them as if this is some sort of unknown magic that he's now come across. Of course, they've all got a bit of magic in their veins, their gifts nothing but. He's still struck speechless at this though, and then it's Yixing's turn to speak up.

"I've got a lot to show and tell you, too," he confesses.

Baekhyun is standing there between Chanyeol, between Yixing, and he's struck with just how happy he is? He can't put words to it, can't put words to the amazement that is Yixing being able to not only dim his light so that it's a healthy glow, but also make it shine even brighter in the best of times. He can't help but glance back at Chanyeol as well, who has a knack for stroking heat against his body without even touching him, the last week full of enough firsts to last him a lifetime.

"C'mon," Baekhyun says then, pulling at Yixing and then reaching out with his light, a little thread pulling at Chanyeol, too, and carting both of them back to cabin 04 so they can discuss things, and so that Baekhyun can bury his face in the crook of Yixing's neck without getting judged by everyone for being the soft, clingy person that he is. He's sure that he's ruined the way others look at him now, even after seeing him in the training rooms. Because there he is serious, light pouring from his skin in dangerous vaults of light, and yet here he is standing between the two men he cares for the most, and he's a puddle of soft, glimmering sparks.

The duality of Byun Baekhyun, he supposed, would be the name of his novel, and the thought makes him laugh, too.

Yixing was right all those weeks ago, when he said that Chanyeol would be a good partner to work with, and he should have trusted him from the very beginning. Should have listened to him when he said that he was going to be fine on the other side of the camp. Because what would have happened had Baekhyun opened himself from the very start? They would have found it much easier to work together, found it much easier to move and spin and twist into this artwork that they now were, such a new, beautiful thing.

"I've missed you," Baekhyun said suddenly, even with Chanyeol right beside him, because the other man knew the truth, and knew that Baekhyun had enough in his heart to love both of them - because it was starting to look like that, starting to feel like that. But it also didn't take away from the fact that he had missed Yixing, had missed the pine scent enveloping him in the soft caress of that healing power that swept over him, and swept over Chanyeol, as well. The three of them just now making it back to their cabin and opening the door to a slew of a mess, which only made Baekhyun and Chanyeol cough in slow fits of laughter at Yixing's expression, and then the shake of his head as he looked over at the two of them.

And even with the laughter and the mess of belongings spread out before them, Yixing still leans in to kiss Baekhyun, and Chanyeol takes this as an open invitation to suckle at Baekhyun's neck, hovering over Baekhyun's other side in what will remain as sensory overload. Yixing has his fingers on Baekhyun's temple as the light starts to get blinding in the next second and he's the one tugging on Baekhyun, he's the one being impatient this time around. When Baekhyun shoots his a glance, an eyebrow rising in question, the healer smirks and then pouts.

"You've had Chanyeol, it's about time I get my share."

There's a moment of surprise that flashes across his face, but then Yixing is only pulling and prodding at him, making Baekhyun come closer, and Chanyeol trailing softly behind, wondering still if this is okay, if it's alright to go in so quickly to just the three of them, or if he has to be invited in. But Yixing has always been open, and he uses his free hand to reach up and touch Chanyeol's cheek, a gentle, softening caress that has always been Yixing's specialty, as he asks him, "Come join us."

And it's like nothing really ever changed, not really. There's an addition to their bed, and Baekhyun feels a hint of excitement over the prospect of going home and going shopping for new furniture to invite Chanyeol into their home, wondering what the dynamics between all three of them would be. But he's glowing with the excitement, and he can't help it, even if Yixing has tried to dim his lights with this newfound talent of his. It has the other two laughing, and Baekhyun fighting over who to kiss first, who to touch first until he realizes that he has two hands, and he's grinning so wide that he thinks his jaw might just break with how much he's smiling.

He's whispering the words, but they're an exaltation as he says them, to neither of them, yet both of them at the same time.

"I love you, I love you, I love you."

And the murmur he hears in reply is both sweet and savory, as he hears, "We love you, too."


End file.
